Sancho I of Portugal

Sancho I of Portugal (11 November 1154-26 March 1211) was King of Portugal from 6 December 1185 to 26 March 1211, succeeding Afonso I of Portugal and preceding Afonso II of Portugal.

Biography
Sancho was born in Coimbra, Portugal on 11 November 1154, the son of Afonso I of Portugal and Matilda of Savoy. In 1170, he was knighted by his father, and he became his father's administrative and military second-in-command. His marriage to Dulce of Aragon led to Aragon recognizing Portugal's independence in 1174, and he became the second King of Portugal in 1185 on his father's death. As king, he turned his attention away from the Galician borderlands to the north and towards the Moorish taifas in the south. He took Silves in 1188 with the help of knights on the Third Crusade, and he fortified Silves, built a castle there, and named himself "King of Silves". In 1191, while he was distracted by wars with Castile and Leon, he lost Silves to the Moors. He died in 1211, and his son succeeded him as Afonso II of Portugal.